1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to slats for use in horizontal or vertical coverings for architectural openings and, more particularly, to such a slat that has been formed in a transversely compressible tubular configuration.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Coverings for architectural openings have been in use for centuries and have assumed many different forms. For years fabrics were simply draped across architectural openings such as windows, doors, archways and the like, but subsequently more sophisticated coverings have emerged. For example, pleated draperies have been in use for some time and can be moved with conventional hardware between an extended position across an architectural opening and a retracted position adjacent the sides of the opening.
Another popular form of covering is a Venetian blind which consists of a plurality of horizontally disposed wooden or aluminum slats and, more recently, plastic slats that are supported at spaced locations along their length by ladders. The ladders, which may be tape ladders or cord ladders, consist of parallel but spaced vertically extending flexible fabric tapes or cords having a plurality of slat supporting cross-ladders or rungs extending therebetween at vertically spaced locations. The slats are supported on the cross-ladders. Lift cords extend vertically through the slats and appropriate control mechanisms are provided so that the lift cords can be raised thereby gathering or accumulating the slats into a stacked relationship when the covering is moved from an extended position across the architectural opening to a retracted position adjacent the top of the architectural opening. Further, by shifting the parallel tapes, cables or cords of the ladders in opposite vertical directions, the cross-ladders are tilted thereby tilting the slats so as to move the Venetian blind between open and closed positions to selectively permit the passage of vision and light between the slats.
More recently, coverings for architectural openings have included vertical blinds which are similar to Venetian blinds except the slats are disposed vertically rather than horizontally. Like Venetian blinds, the slats can be pivoted about their longitudinal axes to move the covering between open and closed positions. The slats, as a group, can also be extended or retracted across the architectural opening.
Even more recently, designer coverings for architectural openings have included cellular blinds wherein interconnected cells of material extend across the architectural opening and can be collapsed upon themselves when opening or closing the covering or moving it between extended and retracted positions.
While slats or vanes that are used in Venetian blinds or vertical blinds have traditionally been made of a rigid hard material, attempts have been made at softening the appearance of such slats or vanes, with examples of such being disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,797,442, 5,960,850 and 5,876,545, which are commonly owned with the present application. In the aforenoted patents, the vanes have been suspended vertically and formed in a tubular configuration, with the tubular configuration substantially eliminating torque along the length of the vane so that when the vane is rotated at its upper end by a control mechanism, the lower end of the vane will move in unison therewith. A characteristic of the tubular vanes in the aforenoted patents, however, is that they are easily bendable along their length so that if disposed horizontally, they will droop or bend.
While tubular vanes have been employed in Venetian blinds, they have suffered from various drawbacks.
There is a need in the art of coverings for architectural openings for a tubular slat or vane that presents a softer appearance than hard wood, plastic or aluminum slats and the like, but which will also retain its shape whether or not disposed horizontally or vertically. Furthermore, there is a need for slats that have a high degree of translucency, wherein a maximum amount of diffused light is transmitted through the shade.